Paint brush guide



Sept. 13, 1955 H. J. HANHART 2,717,407

PAINT BRUSH GUIDE Filed March 6, 1955 INVENTOR. 5 l HAus J. HANHAQT United States Patent PAINT BRUSH GUIDE Hans J. Hanhart, Huntington Station, N. Y.

Application March 6, 1953, Serial No. 340,763 2 Claims. c1. -246) define, in one of its positions of adjustment, a guide for the brush, said guide in another adjusted position defining a support hook whereby the brush canbe suspended within a suitable container.

Another object of importance is to provide a'guide as stated which .is particularly adapted to facilitate the painting of straight, narrow work surfaces, such as the putty seams of window frames.

Still another object is to provide a guide as stated which 7 .will be so formed as to not interfere with normal painting operations, the adjustable mounting of the guide being particularly adapted, in this regard, for disposition of the guide in an inoperative position.

Yet another object is to provide a guide as described having yielding means associated therewith tending to hold the guide in each of its positions of adjustment, said yielding means being adjustable as to the tension thereof.

Still another object is to provide a paint brush guide which can be manufactured at relatively low expense, and can be connected to any one of a number of different paint brush handles varying in respect to the cross sectional area and shape thereof.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional view through a window frame, in which the paint brush guide, and an associated paint brush, are illustrated in side elevation, in proper position for painting a putty seam;

Figure 2 is a reduced side elevational view of the guide and paint brush, showing the guide adjusted to a position in which it will serve as a hanger for the brush whereby the brush can be suspended within a container, said container being illustrated fragmentarily and in section;

Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the guide taken from the left of Figure 1, an associated paint brush being illustrated fragmentarily;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view, the scale being enlarged still futher, taken substantially on line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view of the guide partly in longitudinal section and partly in side elevation, the associated paint brush being illustrated fragmentarily; and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a support block forming a part of the guide.

The paint brush guide constituting the present invention has been designated generally at 10, and as will be noted from the drawing, is connectible to a conventional paint brush 12.

Z,?l7,407 Patented Sept. 13, 1955 For connecting the guide to the paint brush handle, I provide a clamp means including spring arms '14 integrally' connected, at one end, by a relatively short, straight bight 16, theother ends of said arms being formed with outwardly extended, spaced ears having transversely aligned openings through which extends a connecting screw 18. The screw is provided with a nut which, when tightened, causes the arms 14 to tightly grip a handle about which they are circumposed.

A support block has been designated by the reference numeral 20, andhas an arcuately indented inner face 22 which substantially complements the transverse'curvature of the associated surface of the paintbrush handle.

Formed in the block 20, and extending from side to side of its outer face, is a transverse groove 24, receiving the 'bight '16; A'longitudinal groove 26, formed in said outer face of block 20, is disposed normally to the groove 24, and is transversely curved in cross section.

At the point of crossing of the transverse and longitudinal grooves of the block 20, I provide a pivot pin 28, said pin being embedded at its inner endin the block 20, and projecting outwardly from the block. The pin 28 is extended through a transverse opening 30 formed in one end portion'of a guide member 32. Guide member 32,

' for the greatest part of its length, is of straight formation,

said guide member being so proportioned as to be engageable in the longitudinal groove 26 of the support block 20. 1

The other end portion of the guide member 32 is projctedla'terally, and isbent in the direction oftthe firstnamed end portion of said rod member, to define a hook '-34. The hook 34, as will be noted from Figure l, is adapted to provide a guide, during painting operations, the use-of the hook as a guide being discussed in greater detail hereinafter.

Arranged longitudinally of the first-named end, portion of the guide member 32 is a longitudinally bowed leaf spring 36, the ends of which are formed with notches 38 receiving the guide member, whereby said ends of the spring are enabled to slide longitudinally of the guide member. Medially between its ends, spring 36 has an opening receiving the outer end portion of the pivot pin 28, said outer end portion of the pivot pin projecting through the opening of the spring and being provided with a lock washer 40. A nut 42 is threaded on the projecting end of the pivot pin against the washer 40, and threaded upon the pivot pin against nut 42 is a cap nut 44.

It will be seen that this construction permits the spring to be adjustably tensioned relative to the guide member 32, it being apparent that threading of the nuts 42, 44 inwardly toward the spring will increase the pressure with which the spring bears against the guide member 32.

By reason of this arrangement, the guide member 32 is arranged longitudinally of the paint brush handle on which it is mounted, said guide member being reversible end for end within its associated groove 26, between a first position shown in Figure 1, and a second position shown in Figure 2.

In the first position of the guide member 32, the book 34 is disposed laterally of the midlength portion of the bristle end of the paint brush. As a result, the guide can be effectively used in painting a relatively narrow, straight surface such as a putty seam 46 extending along a rail of a window frame 48 in which is mounted a pane 50. The hook 34 will slidably contact the pane 50, during movement of the paint brush longitudinally of the putty seam, so as to guide the paint brush during said movement and insure the accurate painting of said seam.

In this way, no paint will impinge upon the pane 50,

or upon the part of the window frame adjacent the putty seam.

The device can, of course, be used as a guide in painting other surfaces, although as will be appreciated, it is particularly effective in painting putty seams of the type shown.

Referring to Figure 2, it may be noted that the guide member 32 can be lifted out of the groove 26, and reversed end for end within said groove, the spring 36 yielding to permit this adjustment. When the guide member has been reversed in this way, the spring 36 will again hold the same firmly in the groove 26. However, the hook 34 will now be faced downwardly, adjacent the upper end of the paint brush. The hook, in this position, serves to support the paint brush within a container 52, containing an oil or solvent designed to keep the brush soft while not in use.

It will be seen from the above that the device, though capable of manufacture at low cost, is nevertheless adapted to serve both as a paint brush guide and as a brush hanger, depending upon the position to which the guide member 32 is adjusted. Further, the device can be readily secured to paint brushes of various sizes and cross sectional shapes, and when so secured, is especially adapted for the painting of putty seams or other straight, narrow strips located adjacent a surface such as that defined by the pane 50.

As examples of other surfaces which can be painted, I have in mind interior trim, base boards, and coves at the corners of rooms or at the ceilings of said rooms.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described above, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A paint brush guide comprising: a support block; clamp means carried by said block and extendable about a paint brush handle for separably connecting the block to the handle, said block having an end to end groove; a guide member carried by the block, said guide member having a laterally projected hook at one end providing a guide, the other end of said guide member being pivotally connected to the block and seated in said groove, said guide member being reversible end for end within the groove for adjustable positioning of the guide member relative to a paint brush handle; and yielding means associated with said guide member and resiliently tensioned to hold the guide member within the groove.

2. A paint brush guide comprising a support block detaehably connectible to a paint brush handle, said support block having an end to end groove extending longitudinally of the handle when the block is connected thereto; a pivot pin projecting outwardly from the block within said groove; a guide member pivoted upon said pin and seated within the groove, said guide member being reversible end for end within the groove and having a hook portion, said hook portion in one position of the guide member being adapted to define a guide, the hook portion being adapted, in the reversed position of the guide member, as a hanger facilitating supporting of the paint brush upon a container; and a bowed leaf spring carried by said pivot pin, said leaf spring being engaged at its ends with the guide member and being tensioned to hold the guide member in said groove, said pin having means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 517,868 Krichbaum Apr. 10, 1894 2,237,923 Brainard Apr. 8, 1941 2,553,453 Heckman May 15, 1951 2,584,504 Seeber Feb. 5, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 774,029 France Sept. 10, 1934 

